Your Words Unspoken
by IKnowAlma
Summary: That special meeting between two very different people. How Pepper got her name and learned to love a narcissistic billionaire. TonyxPepper development. Set before the first movie. Place in Avengers movie category because Iron Man does not exist.


Your Words Unspoken

Chapter 1 – Set Me on Fire

He had everything. Women, fame, fortune, charm, good looks and that genius quality that made him that much more desirable. He was Tony Stark. Sure, his parent's had died a few years back leaving him alone with the family corporation but that didn't matter. He'd never been all that close to his father in the first place and well, he'd taken to not thinking about his mother. Why dwell on things you can't change? Look for the bright side and his silver lining seemed to never end or at least he told himself so.

The world loved him. Minus those people that highly disliked the idea that he was America's biggest arms dealer and that his own inventions had stepped the war game up a fair deal. But he wasn't all weapons of mass destruction. He went to charity events and while he had a certain level of disinterest and a general lack of caring, he still made an effort to be generous. That counted, didn't it?

But why was he thinking about these things so early in the day? Probably some attempt at self-justification linked to the horrible hangover he had. He couldn't remember anything from the night before but that wasn't unusual. It was like New Years. People kept telling him about a speech he had made about Integrated Circuits that he could never recall.

"Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Stane are in the lobby sir." Jarvis' computer voice announced from the room's speakers. There was always that hint of a snarky attitude that had somehow copied itself from Tony to the AI he had designed to run his house. He could never decide if he liked it or not.

"What are they doing here so early?" Tony asked looking around for the woman he had brought home. At least he thought he'd brought one home but if he thought about it long enough he recalled programming Jarvis to remove women for him as early as possible and then going back to drinking. He had a feeling he had been trying to forget something he was meant to be doing. Probably one meeting or another that he was more than happy to let Obadiah sit in on.

"You have missed three morning appointments, sir." Jarvis responded simply and not for the first time Tony wondered why he hadn't changed the AI to something less sarcastic. With a sigh that suggested he would have much preferred to wake up to more women and more alcohol, he made the effort to dress and go downstairs and greet the two men that were technically his friends.

"What did I do?" Tony asked in welcome. Rhodes shot him the familiar irritated glance he always spared for the billionaire since they had met one time when Stark was doing a military demonstration. Obadiah's smile was decidedly strained.

"You tried to set me on fire last night." Was the older man's answer. Tony, not one to admit he did anything "wrong" glanced between the two men innocently before shrugging his shoulders.

"You probably deserved it." He responded pouring himself a glass of whiskey before asking Jarvis to inform Happy to get ready to leave. Obadiah laughed in dismissal though there was something sinister in the look he shot Tony.

"You also missed a conference with some very important military personnel." Rhodes spoke up with a tone that suggested he was scolding a child. Tony raised his glass in mock salute before sculling its contents then grabbing everything he needed.

"But I found whiskey so it's all good." He replied with an arrogant smirk before stepping out the door. Obadiah and Rhodes exchanged concerned, grim glances as they watched the man leave.

"We really need to find him an assistant he will accept that's willing to be a babysitter and won't fall to his charm." Rhodes commented. He got a tired grunt of agreement from the older man before they left the billionaire's home.

She could hardly believe her luck. What were the odds, really? She had graduated last year with her degree for business administration and accounting. Now here she was, her first day at the biggest and most talked about company in America. Stark Industries. Virginia Potts was ecstatic at the bright future such a position would have for her. Work there for even a short amount of time and you were guaranteed a job anywhere. What more could she ask for?

"You're in the finance department Miss Potts. It's an easy job. Mr. Stark himself does the numbers so there isn't even any real reason to check over them." The woman who was introducing her to the company and explaining her daily tasks informed her. Virginia got the distinct impression that like so many other women, the lady idolized the billionaire. Had maybe even been one of the many he had flirted with as the media reported. But he was a genius, rich and in an enviable position. For all Miss Potts knew these rumours were the blatant lies of the jealous labelling him as a playboy to discourage women and harm his name.

"Can't hurt to check, can it?" She joked in a nervous fashion. The blonde woman glanced over to her with a raised eyebrows expression. Virginia looked down abashedly but thought she had a point anyway. Everyone made mistakes. Even gifted young men with brilliant minds.

"Your lunch break is at eleven." The woman concluded with a huffy attitude before walking out and leaving the young, new worker by herself in a room full of strangers. Making an expression that she couldn't believe how easily she'd offended the girl, Virginia moved over to her little office booth, sitting down at her desk. True to her word she began going through files and double checking Mr. Stark's work to make sure the company's finances were in order. It astounded her some of the things listed and she found herself frowning as unorthodox billings popped up between obvious requirements.

The hours drew on with a deliberate slowness and rubbing a hand on the back of her neck, avoiding her hair so she would not mess up her tidy office bun, she began to lose focus. She glanced casually to a packet she had been handed upon arrival. A "things you need to know" collection. There were the usual work printouts, manuals, procedures booklets but the most interesting thing was a magazine with articles featuring the young Mr. Stark. Curiosity getting the better of her, Virginia began browsing through it learning of the billionaire's achievements, of his father's Arc Reactor, of his potential future. She made a bemused expression feeling like the addition of the articles was some sort of "Hey, look how awesome your boss is" sort of deal. Shaking her head with a laugh, she sat up straighter, tilted her head in determination and focused on the task at hand.

She was glad she did because with that defiant resolve she spotted something she had not truly believed to find. Tony Stark's calculations were wrong. She triple checked and then did so again just to be certain. Tony Stark had missed a few numbers, costing the company a decent chunk of money. She looked around the office in slight bewilderment, though her gaze only met the walls of cubicles. Quickly she printed out the appropriate pages, stacked them together neatly and then found the office of the woman manager who had directed her earlier.

"Excuse me." She called out after a knock. The woman let her in but the expression on her face suggested she had no interest in talking. Virginia took a deep breath, steeling herself to do what needed to be done.

"What is it, Miss Potts?" The woman asked hostility in her voice. Deciding to get it over and done with, Virginia offered the papers to her though the other woman said nothing and did not accept them.

"I found a miscalculation in the numbers, Miss Eddings." She declared. The look the manager shot her suggested there was no possible way Tony Stark would have made a mistake.

"Mr. Stark is a _genius."_ Eddings began in a slow, deliberate manner that suggested she was explaining something to a child. "He makes no miscalculations. Do not make things up to further your career." She concluded. Virginia stood there dumbstruck. Refusing to believe her was one thing, accusing her of doing it for her own ambitions was something else entirely. Biting back the flare of indignant rage that had welled up inside of her, Virginia waved the papers to the woman again.

"I promise you, I'm not making this up." She implored. Eddings was about to make a rebuttal, probably the kind that threatened Miss Potts' new job but commotion outside caught their attention.

Tony Stark was every bit as handsome in real life as he was in the magazines. He held himself with a confident air that suggested there was no one else on this Earth better than he and Virginia like so many others couldn't help but find it enrapturing. However her moment of wonder lasted long enough for her to think of the papers in her hand. Deciding that Eddings wasn't going to believe her no matter what she tried she concluded she'd go straight to the source. With determination in her step, she stalked out to where Tony was being decidedly friendly with his staff though his constant misnaming made it clear he remembered none of these people.

"Mr. Stark!" Virginia called out unaware that her manager was hot on her heels. She held out the papers but just as he turned around the blonde woman stepped between them.

"Who's this Miss Weeks?" He inquired, tilting his head down so he could see the red haired woman over his sunglasses. Virginia blushed slightly at his blatant once over not knowing how to respond to his blunt honesty.

"Eddings." She corrected with a smile somewhere between desperation and flirting. "This is Miss Potts. She's no one sir. Don't mind her." The manager spoke up with a deceptively sweet smile. Tony shrugged before disappearing out of the room, his task on increasing worker morale apparently over. Eddings rounded on Virginia almost violently and shot her a rather aggressive look. "You are walking on very thin ice Miss Potts. If you ever approach Mr. Stark again you will be out the door faster than you can pack your things." She warned before stalking back to her office. The red head looked around in scepticism. She could hardly believe the woman had such an important position when she was obviously not suited for the job.

She sat back down at her desk, staring hopelessly at her computer screen. But Miss Potts wasn't done. Tony Stark had made an error and while he probably had enough money to not care about the loss, it was her duty to make sure he became aware of the mistake and to get it fixed. It was nearly eleven o'clock. Tony's office was at the top and even if Virginia lost her job trying, she would do everything in her power to make sure he saw those papers.

He wanted desperately to be back at his manor tinkering or somewhere else getting drunk with pretty women. Obadiah, acting like an overbearing father to him, had commanded he spend the day in the office. Obviously yesterday's poor start that went straight to partying hadn't been on the older man's approval list. Fair enough.

Pouring a glass of spirits in that defiant, doing whatever he wanted to way, Tony looked over files on his computer. He could do the paperwork though he never wanted to. He'd much prefer if someone else did that for him. Running a company was just not in his list of interests. Instead he began sketching out ideas for new weapon tech. That would at least keep his two friends in good moods and get them off his back for a little while.

He was distracted however by a commotion and he glanced up just as Happy was investigating. The other security guards that followed him constantly were blocking the way of a woman he felt like he had just met. A moment's thought and he realized it was the office worker he had just been poorly introduced to. He gave her a second once over appreciating her beauty but deciding he didn't want to be disturbed. So he put his head back down to work letting his security detail deal with her. To his surprise however he found himself looking up again when he heard grown men crying in pain.

"Mr. Stark!" She cried out and he watched as she continued to use her can of pepper spray on the men blocking her path. Happy moved to snatch the weapon away but he too felt the sting of it in his eyes as all four bulky men hunched over, wiping at the pain. "Mr. Stark! I have something you really need to look at!" She cried out, stepping past them and readjusting her clothes to look presentable. Something about the smallness of her compared to the hugeness of his security detail made the entire event seem ludicrously hilarious. Biting back a laugh but grinning like an idiot, he stood up from his desk. Normally he didn't like things being handed to him, they were either boring or bad news but he decided to take the papers from her and look them over. It was his work on the financial records. After a moment of looking through them and comparing notes he realized that he'd made a miscalculation and that this woman had gone to great lengths to point it out to him.

"Very astute, Pepper." He commented looking back to her. She frowned at the nickname before nodding her head with a slightly embarrassed expression as she grasped where it came from. "Why didn't you just hand this to your manager?" Stark inquired after a moment watching her carefully.

"Well I did or at least I tried but Miss Eddings wouldn't believe that you could make a mistake." She explained with a tone that suggested her exchange with his woman had been infuriating.

"So you pepper sprayed my guards to bring it to my attention. You have a lot of reckless determination." He commented as he began to think things over. This woman showed a lot of heart, a strong will, a sense of duty and a streak of recklessness that was admirable. Not to mention she was good on the eyes. Obviously she had a gift for paperwork and a certain level of ambition to do it. Perhaps she was just the answer he was looking for. "I want to make you an offer Pepper. How would you like to be my personal assistant?" he requested watching as her eyes went wide with surprise. She gaped like a fish out of water though a smile was threatening to interrupt her shock.

"I would love to." She began looking around at the floor like it held the words she was so desperately searching for. Tony found it oddly adorable and considered not for the first time, destroying a personal assistant's job by sleeping with her. "When do I start?" She asked after a moment.

"Now. First I'd like you to go fire Miss Eddings. Replace her with whoever you want." He informed her before moving back behind his desk. She stood there a second longer, stuttering to herself before she turned on her heel and was out the door.

She could hardly believe it. Telling Mr. Stark about the miscalculation had never been for her own ambitions. She was just doing her job. Stubbornness and perhaps a little irritation at the blonde woman's treatment of her had probably pushed her a little too far when she had reacted to being thrown out with slight aggression and pepper spray. She apologised repeatedly to the men as she left that massive office, offering to bring them some water to wash their eyes when she got back.

By the time she made it to Edding's office she was walking with a determined strut, her jaw set. She'd never fired anyone before and a good part of her wasn't too keen on the idea. Her stubborn aggressive side however was more than happy to do the job considering the way the blonde woman had spoken to her.

"Miss Eddings. Please pack your things and leave. You have been dismissed." She informed the other woman. She looked at her with angry, disbelieving eyes, threats poised on her tongue when she glanced to something on her computer screen. Whatever it was changed her rage to quick depression as she broke out in pitiful sobs. Suddenly Virginia felt guilty and she mercifully helped the woman pack her things and leave, muttering condolences and that she'd still be able to find a good job. In the process she noticed a message on the woman's computer screen from Stark himself. How he'd done it was a mystery to her and the creepy feeling of being watched made her glance around for cameras but perhaps he'd just predicted the inevitable.

The harder task was choosing someone to replace her. Pepper had barely begun working there; she knew no one and had little idea of who would be a suitable candidate. Going on everyone's personal records alone, she chose the individual who seemed most capable. It was in these moments that she began to wonder just what had she gotten herself into. What did being the personal assistant of Tony Stark entail and why did it make her anxious?

((A/N: Blegh. I've ruined one of those iconic moments but I haven't uploaded anything in such a long time all because this fic turned out to be a bad challenge I assigned myself. I know my other fics are short and this one will probably be shorter. I'm really just not suited to stories solely about relationship/friendship building. I targeted my creative brain right into a dead end with this one. I'm hoping to find random inspiration from any who might actually like this though I don't blame readers both new and old, if they don't. I hope I haven't butchered this entertaining meeting too much. I'll try and get through it as quick as possible so I can get on to other Marvel fics. Also I put this in The Avengers category because there's no movie Iron Man category...what's up with that? As usual, constructive criticism is cherished.))


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